A Jellie Christmas
by Basched
Summary: Casey's christmas eve was going well until Morgan interfered, but Ellie could well come to his rescue.JELLIE.
1. Part One

_Author's Note: This was supposed to be for Christmas...it should have been completed by then, but as I worked over the holidays and didn't get any time off, it is only now I have finished. Huzzah! This is just a silly humorous and fluffy story that I hope people will enjoy reading, especially my fellow Jellies. Big major thanks to Kuryakinsgirl for beta-ing for me, but any mistakes are mine not hers._

_Disclaimer: Not mine. Disclaimer whilst skipping: Not not mine! Not not mine! (sorry..)_

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**A Very Jellie Christmas**

"Morgan…one word. I can give you one word. No!"

"But, Chuck! We can't do this without him! It will be the end of the world as we know it if he doesn't come to our rescue!"

Chuck shook his head as he loaded up his bag. It was a very bad idea on Morgan's part. The little bearded member of Team Bartowski sighed and then slapped in Chuck's palm, the pouch of tranq darts. He helped his friend pack for the new spy mission, not saying a word, but nervously biting at his nails as the whole situation finally became clear. He was going to die.

"We have no choice…" he murmured. "He is our last hope."

While Chuck appreciated the slight Star Wars quote there, he didn't feel that it fit the situation. Morgan was in a pickle for sure, but that didn't mean that Chuck was going to let his best friend dig his own grave.

"Casey is having a couple personal days off." Chuck said as he shucked on his shoulder holster. Morgan helped him and then passed him the weapons he would be using for his mission. "He's not going to be pleased if you come to him with this. He's been through a lot from the last mission and he deserves it. We can let him take it easy, let him watch his war films or do whatever it is that Casey actually does on his days off."

"But we've got no one else!"

"Look…." Chuck sighed and clenched a friendly hand on Morgan's shoulder. He looked down at his friend, his Q-his Alfred-and smiled widely and sincerely. "We don't need to go running to John Casey every time something goes wrong."

"But that's what you told me to do. 'In times of great peril and danger….go get John Casey.' Your own words, pal. "

Chuck paused for thought, or rather a show of disbelieving thought, as again his friend got a little confused.

"Er…this is not one of those times."

"I think you'll find it is."

"No it isn't."

"Er…Chuck! I think you'll find it is! Can't you see how many people will be affected by this? How many lives this could destroy? We need him! The world NEEDS Colonel John Casey! We're doomed and condemned to an eternity of hell and misery if we don't get his help."

"That's exaggerating things a little…isn't it?" Chuck could see the near panic look on Morgan's face.

"Chuck Bartowski! I can't believe you are going against me on this! I'm not exaggerating!" Morgan scowled.

"Little buddy, I know how you feel, really I do, but this isn't that much of a deal. Right now, I would consider sitting back and relaxing a little."

Morgan Grimes didn't listen. He was desperate and when there were no more levels of crap and hell to go through, when hope was diminishing, he knew of no other person (other than Chuck) who could lift them all back into the light.

Chuck watched as his friend rushed out of the door and towards his doom. The spy picked up his phone and sent a warning text to the Colonel, just to prepare him. Satisfied that he did all he could, Chuck picked up the last item to go into his bag. Sarah would be here in a moment and Chuck had to make sure he had everything.

That included his packed lunch.

* * *

Strange.

There was no reply. Morgan knew he had to be in, for the Crown Vic was parked in its usual spot and it was still too early for him to have gone somewhere, unless he had gone for a run? Morgan was aware that Casey often got up at the devil hours of the morning to go for a run by the beach. The six foot four Marine could have been there now, but his 'spidey sense' told Morgan this wasn't so. Well…the sandy trainers left by Casey's door told him as well.

So where could he be?

Casey kept himself to himself, only interacting with the neighbours unless he really had to. Recently Alex had helped him out of his shell a little, but apart from Chuck there wasn't anyone else in the complex that Casey even wanted to get to know. With the exception of one.

Miss Eleanor Faye Bartowski.

She would know where he was. Wouldn't she?

Morgan ran up to Ellie's apartment and his eagerness died a little when he came face to face with the nicely decorated front door. This year was going to be tough on Ellie, but that wasn't going to stop her from going ahead with the traditional feast she loved to concoct. Everyone was invited to tonight's Christmas eve party, so that naturally meant John Casey as well. Morgan knocked on the wood and eventually the door opened.

Instead of a slightly sombre and saddened Ellie Bartowski looking back at him, there was dazzling sunshine. Her smile was radiant and joyful, her eyes sparkled like diamonds and her gorgeous skin was flushed with a wash of pinkish red. Morgan was stopped dead in his tracks.

It was not even 8am in the morning. Ellie was dressed in _short _pyjama shorts which lengthened considerably her slender long legs, and a tank top that was clinging so tightly to her form that, Morgan couldn't help but stare at her—_gulp_—straining breasts. Her long brown hair was loose around her shoulders, sweat soaked at her brow and Morgan felt like he had died, gone to heaven and God's most revered angel had come to escort him in. However, what made him feel even better than going to heaven, was the strong smell of roasted coffee and the smell of freshly baked croissants, melted butter and cinnamon. She had been cooking pastries again!

Ellie and breakfast were the most seductive and alluring things ever to exist in the mornings.

Gone were Ellie's full length unflattering pyjamas, dressing gown and fuzzy slippers that she normally sported in the morning these past months, now there was lots of flesh, sweet smiles and the smell of her cooking. She was a goddess before Morgan and he couldn't help but salivate.

"Good morning, Morgan." Ellie said, firmly and loudly, snapping him out of his daze. Morgan felt the dribble in his beard and quickly swiped it away with the back of his head. Ellie scowled a little but the glorious smile returned. "How can I help you?"

The visage of one of the most perfect women known to exist was difficult to ignore, yet Morgan managed to pull himself together and get down to business.

"El, we have a problem. I mean…super big and I was wondering if you know where-?"

Morgan's voice trailed into nothing when, behind Miss Bartowski, he was startled beyond the ability to breathe, to see John Casey. The Colonel, dressed in light khakis and a t-shirt that was just about covering that wide chest of his, glared at him with angry eyes of blue. His hair was wet and he held in one hand a mug of the brewed coffee. On the very large white ceramic mug, along the top and bottom were measuring lines of a ruler and in the middle, the words "Size Matters" were printed in black.

Morgan felt even smaller as he cleared his throat and wiped his sweaty hands on his pants.

"NO!" Morgan never even got to ask. "I know what you're going to ask me, Grimes, and the answer is no! General Beckman has given me the first two days off I've had in six months and I plan on enjoying them. "

"You have personal days off and you're….you're spending them with Ellie?" asked Morgan, his voice gasping between words as his mind tried to fathom what the man was doing there so early in the morning. "It's…wha…erm….? You don't want more time with Alex?"

His voice croaked into nothing when he thought his eye glimpsed Casey's hand trailing round Ellie's waist, but after a couple of blinks, Casey was standing in front of her with his arms folded across his chest.

"This is her first Christmas since Devon left." He said softly. "This party is going ahead tonight, so I thought I would help her. Do you have a problem with that?"

Ellie cupped her hand over her mouth, but the attempt to try and hide that smile and keep in the sniggering snort of laughter didn't work. Morgan knew Casey was teasing…kind of. Maybe?

"No!" Morgan's voice squeaked, then deepened to normal. "No. Not at all. I think it's a lovely thing you're doing, John. Are you making those mini-quiches again? You gotta make the mini-quiches again….Ellie...you know how scrumptious those mini quiches of his are, rii-ight?"

"They're very tasty." Ellie smirked and Morgan couldn't help but think there was something more to her answer as her eyes widened and it provoked Casey to suddenly clear his throat and…was he blushing?

"Yeah well…Morgan," A slight redness had hued Casey's cheeks. "You got the answer, it's no, so bye."

"John!" Ellie teasingly slapped the back of Casey's arm. The peculiar purr/growl which responded back to her was low, but Morgan picked up on it. He didn't miss the flashing glint of—amusement-arousal—in his eyes either. "There's no need to be mean to him."

"Help us, please!" Morgan blurted out, nearly dropping to his knees to grovel but not when he saw Casey's stare. "We can't do this without you!"

"No! I told you and Chuck has told you….no." The snarl that followed, clearly told Morgan how much trouble and world of pain he would be in if he persisted with this matter.

However he persisted and he appealed to the one other person—other than Casey's daughter—who he couldn't say no to.

"Ellie? Tell him to help us. It's vital! Lives are at stake!"

There was already the look of hopelessness in the older man's eyes when he turned to face Ellie. She was grinning even more and Morgan was quite taken back when a saddened almost pleading expression crossed Casey's face. It was the Casey look that happened every time he never got to use the Buy More CIA defence guns; it was the look he had when he was told he couldn't go to WepCon; it was the look he gave when Beckman told him he couldn't use "Vera" on the last mission.

"Ellie?" Was he begging with her? Pleading?

"John…it's Christmas eve." She said, her fingers lightly caressing at the muscled forearm as it clenched in the fold. Her voice took upon a tone that confused most, if not all men. Did Ellie mean that he didn't have to do this and he should stay with her? But did she also mean that she would be very disappointed if he didn't try? Bah humbug?

"Huh?" both men said at the same time. There was that twinkle of mischief in Ellie's eye and Morgan was lost as to what was going on.

"I'm…I'm not comfortable with this." Casey whispered to her, edging closer to Ellie. The older man unfolded his arms and one of his hands rested over hers, stroking at her knuckles.

Morgan blinked.

_This is new…Casey and Ellie? When did this happen? How? Huh? Wha? Have to keep a close eye on how this progresses! Get the facts! Oh…does Chuck know about it? Hell…this is HUGE!_

At this precise moment, the little signals and touching between his best friend's sister and his "possible" future father-in-law, wasn't paramount. Casey needed to help and it looked as if Ellie was going to convince him to stay with her. Morgan caught on. Ellie was swaying Casey without actually telling him what to do! She was still allowing him to make the decision…but oh it was so crafty.

Morgan clasped his hands together and steepled two fingers against his lips, as Casey contemplated his response. He wasn't going to do it, because both of them knew that you never upset Ellie Bartowski. Ever.

Then another plan to clinch the deal popped into Morgan's head.

"You know…helping to save these innocent lives, Alex will love you more! You will be the best dad ever!"

Ellie smiled and bobbed her head gently towards the little bearded man, appreciating a move well played. The slight gesture normally wouldn't have escaped Casey, but in his moment of pondering, as he could only imagine Alex's disappointment, he missed it.

"All right," Casey said, a saddened and apologetic glance gazing to Ellie's direction. "I'll do it."

Morgan let out a whoop of joy and was about to fling himself into the giant man's bulk but instead he got a hand of the Colonel right in the face and was shoved back. A single finger that could surely kill him, pointed at his face.

"I said I'll agree to this suicidal plan of yours Grimes, doesn't mean you get to hug me, now or ever!"

"Of course, yeah, sure, Casey." Morgan grinned and then rubbed his hands together. "You are the right man for this job! You've really saved my bacon and I won't forget this, big guy."

"I hopefully will."

Casey drained the coffee from his mug and winced before handing the mug to Ellie. Morgan could have sworn that the man looked scared before he adopted an apologetic but hopeful and genuine expression for the woman he had obviously shared breakfast with.

"I'm sorry I won't be able to help you with the party preparations, Ellie. I want to help you." There was a small sound of a light hearted laugh that went along with the handsome smile he flashed at her. "But…I…er…"

"Don't worry," Ellie said, her voice dropping down to an understanding whisper and her fingers lightly hovering over his hand. "I understand, but that doesn't mean I'll let you off on not having a costume for tonight! Its fancy dress, everyone has to have one."

The upset whine was brief, as was the distressed pout on his face (Morgan had only seen that face once when the Vic was involved in an accident.) but because he knew there was no arguing with that point, his face softened somewhat and he allowed a tiny smile to form on his lips.

Morgan watched as Casey and Ellie then tried to be anything but intimate in front of him. The signs were there, the gentle smiles, the nervous eye contact, the blush on Ellie's skin. It had been a year since Devon left and the Lady Bartowski had coped well—or rather barely-with the split, but what was this that Morgan had discovered? Was it friendly neighbours being friends over breakfast?

There was flirting going on. Casey was definitely putting on the charm (which was interesting and fascinating to see) but Morgan understood why any red-blooded man would flirt with a beautiful creature like Ellie. Yet, why was Ellie so obviously flirting back at him?

He had to find out. Already his mind was taking notes, yet Morgan had to find out his own feelings on this subject. For however Morgan felt about it, his bestest bud in all-the world, was going to feel it ten times more. Chuck could also take it really badly.

"See you later then, Ellie." Morgan cheerfully chirped as a rather awkward silence settled on the three. Ellie and Casey broke out of their little moment and when Casey stepped out into the courtyard, she smiled warmly and gave Morgan a crafty smirk.

"Take care, won't you?" she said, innocently.

"Sure, we will. Now we have this man on the front lines…John will be back in no time to help you!"

"I'm sure he will."

Casey returned Ellie's cheery goodbye, albeit with a tiny hint of shyness coming across but when the door closed, the smile dropped from his face. Morgan thought that a large storm cloud had descended upon Echo Park, or rather just around the giant. A large fist grabbed hold of Morgan's shirt, dragged him to the shadows of the archway and pushed him up against the wall.

"Don't you ever ask me to do this again," He said, growling ferociously. "I don't like being used, especially when it's my day off."

"What have you got against this?" Morgan gasped back, his feet struggling to find ground. "I thought you like missions!"

"This is not a mission! This is you encroaching on my peace."

"Sure it's a mission! You get to wear a disguise…don't ya? This is an excellent plan Casey! You've got nothing to worry about! Alex will love you more when she sees this side of you! I guarantee it!"

To be continued.


	2. Part Two

_Author's Note: Second part of the story. Again beta-ed by Kuryakingirl. Er...that's about all I have to say really...the usual mistakes being mine and that I don't own the characters in anyway. Do enjoy, if not...then...ah well. _

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**A Very Jellie Christmas: Part Two**

It had been longer than expected and John still hadn't returned. She was getting concerned as to how he was doing on this mission.

She wasn't sure what she felt about John Casey, there were a lot of feelings mixed up inside and the response she was receiving from him was exciting and new, creating a spark that she had been without for a year. Or had it been longer? From the moment she had met him, with the quiches and that gorgeous smile, Ellie Bartowski had been smitten…but what was this now?

It was going to be a long while before the party, so she decided to go out and collect a few things, including her costume for the fancy dress. Ellie hadn't expected to see the sight before her when she walked through those sliding doors.

The Buy More store was busy, as was the norm for Christmas Eve. Customers were like ants in all the aisles but another and more unusual setting was situated at the far end of the store and had a curious gathering. Although Ellie couldn't quite see what was behind the crowd of children and their parents, she knew all too well what they were here for. The atmosphere was decidedly different from other venues; it wasn't a bright excited and happy one.

Ellie observed the expressions on the people's faces, listened to the murmurs and just like everyone else, jumped when a tantrum like squeal carried across the store. She watched as Morgan went rushing through the customers in a desperate attempt to calm things down, but she was immediately distracted when a friendly female voice spoke behind her.

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

She turned round and came face to face with an employee she hadn't met or even seen before. She was smaller than Ellie and had a wide beaming smile that she reckoned nothing in the whole universe could douse. Soft light brown curls bounced around her shoulders and her bright green elf costume wasn't as pristine as some of the others, but it seemed to emphasis her cheeriness. Printer ink stained her fingers, it stained on her skimpy short dress and there was also a tiny smudge on her nose from where her fingers had obviously rubbed.

If Ellie hadn't seen the name tag, she would have thought this was another normal (not the right word) Buy More employee. This young bright and cheerful woman wasn't anything like her predecessors.

"I'm here to see John Casey." Ellie said, peering back over her shoulder at the decorated wonderland setting.

"Are you, by any chance, Ellie Bartowski?" asked the elf woman. Ellie smiled back and held out her hand.

"I am."

"I'm Greta. Pleased to meet you. I've heard Casey talk about you."

"He talks…about me?" gasped Ellie, surprised at this piece of news. She felt her cheeks burn as the excitement, at hearing that, soared. Greta nodded.

"I've been here for over a week now and what I've learnt about John Casey is that he doesn't talk much." Greta stood straight and as tall as she could, flicking the long point of her hat and making the bell jingle. "When he does, it's normally related to…"

Ellie shared a look with the Greta agent, making her aware that she knew just who Casey really was, what he did and who Greta was. The woman's smile became serious—a little frightening—instead of chirpy cheerfulness.

"He normally talks about things related to his work." Ellie said for her.

"Of course." Greta's façade of being so bright and carefree vanished. She took upon a more formal, composure which was so military, very much like John. "It's unusual for Casey to talk a lot or about anything not "But More" related. So, I take notice when he mentions you, on more than a couple of times, in _casual_ conversation."

"Oh."

"He likes your cooking."

Ellie knew this, but it pleased her no end to know that he had told other people. The CIA agent noticed her reaction and shuffled just a little bit closer to Ellie and lowered her voice.

"He likes your company a lot more."

"He-? Er…how is he doing?" asked Ellie, clearing her throat and turning away so she didn't have to look at the goofy grin that creased on Greta's lips.

"Not bad, but not great either." The woman wasn't going to press the matter of the Colonel's fascination with Ellie further. She clasped her hands behind her back and gazed over to the grotto. "He's brought a whole new side to the role."

Something beeped within the confines of Greta's elf costume. Ellie was surprised when the agent pulled a PDA from somewhere on her person, the costume really didn't have a lot of places to keep anything. The device beeped with alarm and when Greta looked at the screen, she sighed in frustration and the slight smile turned into something more. Ellie knew it. John got the same smile when Chuck told him about a potentially dangerous mission. Or, as probably was in this case, he got the opportunity to scare the wits out of a Buy Moron.

"Please, excuse me." Greta bobbed her head at Ellie. "I've got a rodent problem to deal with."

Ellie returned the gesture and watched as Greta passed the Nerd Herd desk and snatched up a staple gun and a large tightly coiled ring of red ribbon. Not the usual equipment to have when dealing with vermin; however Ellie suspected Greta was actually going after the two rats that were still creeping out the other customers. The rats called Jeff and Lester.

While Greta was keeping Jeff and Lester under control, Ellie meandered slowly along the aisles and queues of people, taking in their apprehension, frustration and impatience.

Big Mike often took the honour of playing Santa at the holiday season. It was his role, he embraced it and everyone knew that whilst the Big M was tough on sales and business, he was a softie when it came to having the little kids sit on his knee and getting their picture taken together. He could laugh and be so jolly that it became infectious and that in turn made the customers stay longer and literally 'buy more", which was the whole purpose of having a grotto in the first place.

Colonel John Casey looked anything but jolly, happy or comfortable sitting on the chair amidst snow, reindeer and other assorted Christmas decorations. He was sitting so rigidly that he could have been mistaken for one of the plastic ornaments. Ellie grinned at his clear discomfort and she had to wipe her hand over her mouth to get rid of the smile.

Casey looked the perfect Santa. The plush red velvet suit with white fake fur lining was stuffed so it fattened him and hid the real muscled and toned body beneath. The fake white beard hid the bottom half of his face except for his mouth and with the brim of the hat covering his forehead, only those startling blue eyes visibly showed. John's eyes peeking out from the whiteness were a raw ice blue that was snarling with anger, but Ellie saw his fear as well.

He looked so alone, despite being surrounded by children. He was afraid and angry and not in a Santa Claus spirit at all. Morgan wasn't helping either standing behind him and whispering things. Ellie may not have heard the snarling growl John gave back in response, but she knew he did it, mainly because it made a tiny little three year old currently on his lap to start crying. The mother took her daughter away whose cries erupted into screams of _"Santa doesn't love me_!" and it left Casey looking shocked and so saddened.

"I badly want to go over there and rescue him."

"You're not the only one." Ellie turned and smiled warmly in greeting to the twenty one year old now standing at her side. "He is trying though. He really is."

Alex McHugh nodded and nervously played with the strap of her satchel on her shoulder. Seeing her father like this was new for her and Ellie couldn't help but notice the same sadness in her cobalt eyes. While John had confided in Ellie about Alex, how he felt and regretted not being there for her, Ellie wished that Alex would do the same. There was no doubting that she had a lot of love and pride for Casey, but there was regret and loss buried deep down inside this young woman. The two needed to have more time together, Ellie shouldn't be getting in the way of that. The pang of guilt stabbed at her chest, she knew how important a father and daughter relationship was…a girl depended on it. Ellie had to swallow a sob as she felt the agonising loss of her own.

"So." Ellie wet her dry lips with her tongue. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Alex brightened somewhat and stopped fiddling with the strap of her bag. "My courses are going well, Morgan has been supporting me…dad too…but I'm really looking forward to this party tonight. I have my costume already…I see you have yours."

Ellie held up the hanger from which dangled the grey plastic covered costume. Thinking about her choice, which she had picked out weeks before, made her smile. It wasn't a strange choice, just a little, bizarre, considering the current circumstances.

"Are you going to be staying for Christmas? You are always welcome for dinner at mine." Ellie patted down the cover of the costume absentmindedly. Alex shook her head.

"I'm going home to see mom."

"What about your dad?"

"He's going to your party, isn't he? I can spend some time with him there. Besides, don't you want to spend some time with him? You and he are getting on pretty well."

Ellie couldn't respond to that. Her silence was mainly due to the fact that "getting on pretty well" was an understatement. Whilst she wasn't entirely sure what it was that she and John shared, Ellie was certain it was more than "well." Alex's smile widened.

"Do you think John will want to come to my party after doing this?" Ellie asked as they watched Casey have a present wrenched from his hands. The little boy was clearly uncertain and anxious about the Santa and didn't want to wait around, so he leapt off Casey's lap and pegged it back to his parents.

"Since the Buy More Santa's grotto opened…." Alex took in a deep breath. "My dad has made over ten children cry. Six of them before they sat on his lap and before he even said anything. He's been sneezed on, coughed at, poked, prodded, kicked and dribbled on. He had to change his costume twice as two children actually wet themselves they were that scared of him. One boy stuffed some m&m's up his nose. That did not go down well; however, if it hadn't been for Morgan and Greta, it would have been a catastrophe. So in answer to your question, will my dad want to come to your party after this? Yes, most definitely, yes."

"Most definitely?" Ellie's voice had a little startled squeak to it that made Alex laugh, but the sweet chuckle only shocked Ellie more. Alex waved a hand in dismissal.

"It's all right. You make him happy. I'm happy that you do…from what dad has told me…he hasn't had a whole lot of that in his life. Being happy that is."

Ellie suddenly felt quite bad. If only she had told Morgan no, then John would be helping her with the party preparations, they could have had lunch together…he would have been happy instead of being here, having a cute little three year old gnawing on his fingers.

"Jennifer! Sweetie, don't chew on Santa!" the girl's mother rushed forward towards Casey who was trying to extract his two fingers from the child's mouth, but he winced as the girl growled back and bit down. "Jennifer! Honey! He is not food!"

"It's all right, mam!" Morgan stepped forward and grinned, ruffling the little girl's head.

"What?" hissed Casey as he jerked his arm to get the girl to let go. "No it's not!"

"She's just excited to see you, Santa!" Morgan made happy faces to the girl. "Why don't you give her her present and I'm sure she'll stop eating your fingers…"

"Ow! She is going to chomp them off!" Casey stood up, the girl was now clinging to him even tighter and still holding his digits in her mouth. The child had an amazing bite, her grip was fierce and strong for one so young and he couldn't help but admire that greatly, but they were his fingers she was chewing on. "I've already lost a toe, I'm not going to lose my fingers as well!"

"She won't do that!" Morgan, having picked up a present from the bag by the chair, waved it about in front of the girl's face. She wasn't interested. "I'm sure she won't bite off your fingers."

The mother's facial expression didn't do anything to back that statement.

"Are you _sure?"_ Casey growled, which made the girl do the same. Her little fangs nipped harder on his skin, drawing blood. For a moment the Santa and little girl snarled at each other, but she giggled and carried on, her dribble oozing down his hand. "You wanna to swap places with me, little man?"

Ellie couldn't bare it, she desperately wanted to go over and help him and Alex felt the same. They were about to, but relief took over them and Casey when the little girl was distracted by some sweets. Her mouth released Casey's fingers and she grinned a bloody smile as he handed her back to her mother.

Casey was in an even fouler mood after that and the grumpy Santa affected everyone around him. The screams and wails of disappointed children increased as disgruntled parents tried to take them away from the mean Santa. Casey's patience looked as if it was going to finally snap.

"This is not going to be good." Alex was beyond worried now, she was actually fearful as to what her dad would end up doing. He had patience, yes he wasn't renowned for it, but in his line of work he had to be patient. This was not a mission, the fate of the world did not depend on him and a he was not under orders. He was Santa Claus, dealing with children, something he had never had to do ever before. He looked ready to explode. "We have to get him out of there. Why doesn't Morgan let him have a break?"

"Wait!" Ellie grasped at Alex's arm and felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach, a sensation of bizarre excitement and fear. A plan had popped into her mind and it was so simple! It was also a bit scary, but Ellie knew it would work. Well, she hoped it would work. "I think I know how I can help."

Alex immediately clicked on to what Ellie was thinking and the young woman simply beamed. She even did a little jiggling hopping dance, before directing Ellie to the back of the store herself.

"It's perfect!" Alex said, wincing as the children's screams and raised voices at the grotto reached deafening volume. "Ellie…you're going to make his day!"

"And the children's."

Alex clapped her hands together and nodded.

"This is going to be the best gift ever!"

To see such enthusiasm on Alex's face only made Ellie more nervous. What she was about to do was a lot more than just having lunch or a cup of coffee with John Casey.

* * *

"I want this…! I want that…! AND I want all…!"

Casey had tuned out the whiney nasal tones of the kid's irritating voice. How he had managed to do it, he didn't know. His eyes blurred and tried to focus on an electrical appliance in the distance as the spoilt, over indulged kid on his lap spouted out a list of toys, gadgets and food that he wanted to have for Christmas. Standing to the side, the kid's mother dolled up with makeup and tacky bling was grinning and cooing over her son like he was a saint.

The nervous twitch on Casey's face was increasing into an uncontrollable spasm. If he didn't get up and leave now, he was going to regret it; like he did for saying he would do this stupid façade. Instead of this fat spoilt runt, he could have been with Ellie. Thinking of her made some of the angry tension and pent up frustration ease off, a light almost goofy smile drifted across his face.

Eleanor.

"Oi! Santa! Are you listening to me? I'm telling you what I want for Christmas!" A finger jabbed Casey in the face. That was the last straw.

"I know what you need kid!" Casey sneered, jumping up from the chair and dumping the child on the floor. "You need a boot up your ass, you selfish ungrateful BRAT!"

There was a sudden silence. All eyes turned on Casey, startled and gobsmacked that he had erupted like this, though he thought it ridiculous. Everyone must have been dumb as a wooden plank to miss his crumbling restraint. The obnoxiousness of the spoilt greedy tyke was making the haze of red deepen.

"How DARE you!" sneered the kid, spitting and seething with hatred. "Santa can't do that to me! Mom! Tell Santa he can't do that to me!"

"You can't do that to my son!" screeched the woman. "Manager! This is an outrage, I demand…"

"Demand? You demand?" Casey's growl took upon a deep feral gruffness to it that scared the woman and he would have gotten right into her face if it weren't for Morgan getting between them. Morgan was squashed between the plumped roundness of Casey's costume and—rather awkwardly—the large fake squishy breasts of the woman. He choked and tried to extract his face from the two boobies, but he was squashed some more.

"I demand that this man be escorted from this shop!" the woman spat. "I also demand my money back and compensation for the emotional trauma."

"Emotional trauma? WHY YOU-!"

"That's not Santa!" the boy cried, filled with spite. "He's just a mean old man!"

The children did not like that bit of news at all. Casey's ears felt as if they were going to burst, the shrillness was so high. This was an utter disaster, his Christmas was ruined and because of his foul temper, he had ruined it for the children as well.

He sunk back down into the chair and blocked out everything as Morgan, Greta and the rest of the staff tried to prevent an all-out riot. Casey didn't bat an eye lid, he just tried to control his breathing and calm down, he didn't even make a fuss when the little girl Jennifer came back and gnawed on his other hand.

"Casey! Help! Do something!"

What? What could he do? Nothing good in his current state.

"MEESA SANTA!"

The fact that Jennifer had actually stopping nibbling on Casey's finger and said something, was enough to make Casey look up. It was then that his mouth and eyes widened when he saw a vision of loveliness walking towards him. She was perfect and delectable in a dress of deep blood red, fringed with white fur. Time seemed to slow down, he was spellbound as she appeared to glide like an angel towards him.

"Messa Santa." Jennifer stroked at Casey's beard. "Santa be okay now!"

"Ellie…"

She'd come to save him.

To be continued again.


	3. Part Three

_Author's Note: Here's another chapter. To think that originally I wanted this story to be one big one, but that wouldn't have been possible. Anyhows, the usual statements, not forgetting the important bit, Kuryakingirl beta-ed this for me! Ta muchly lass! Also I do not own the Chuck characters. Though if I did own Casey...ah...no...won't go there. Just..enjoy the story, m'kay? _

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**A Very Jellie Christmas part three**

Everything stopped. The shouting, the screaming, the arguing, the petty recriminations that reverberated back and forth, all of it, just simply stopped. Even the other customers in the Buy More halted in their browsing of the merchandise, as the most stunning woman strode up to Santa. Teens, geeks and bachelors began milling around the families, their eyes watching the most gorgeous "Mrs Santa" they had ever seen.

Morgan's mouth felt as if it could have been touching the floor. His first ever love, the woman he crushed for but now gazed on like a sister (okay not quite like a sister…) was wearing a short Mrs Claus outfit that showed those amazing toned—and lightly tanned-legs he had seen earlier. The shape of dress hugged and shimmied over the beautiful curves of her body and showed her bare luscious neck line. Morgan dropped his eyes just a little, to catch the tempting peak of the tops of her breasts but he instantly looked away. Ellie looked smoking hot, especially with the boots and the hat point that trailed and sat comfortably over her chest, but there was innocence, a hesitant nervousness in her stride and in her smile.

"Ell…Ellie?"

Morgan moved away from the horrible kid's mother and instead looked to John Casey and at the wide glassy eyed adoration and attraction that peeked out between the beard and hat. This was not the scary, hard-ass, or furious Marine Morgan knew. There was no lewdness or perverted pleasure upon his face, as there would have been on Jeff and Lester—where were they anyhow?-In fact, the expression was an amazing sight to behold. Casey looked as if he was in love. Nothing else mattered; nothing else could even exist to him except for Ellie as he was oblivious to everything. Not even to the girl, Jennifer, who was holding his hand.

"Santa be happy!" Jennifer tugged sharply on Casey's arm. He couldn't respond.

"Hi."

Ellie's voice was timid, shy and Morgan could see the pink blush darkening to red on her cheeks. She was shaking a little and her pupils were skittering back and forth from Casey and to where she knew everyone else was watching them.

Casey just mumbled something, it might have been an attempt to say hi back but it wasn't anything coherent.

"Could you use some assistance, Santa?" Ellie asked, crouching down and then addressing the little girl. Jessica nodded. "Did he get into a bit of a temper?"

"Yeah."

Casey shifted in the chair, tensed, as if to protest or say that it wasn't his fault, but he clamped his mouth shut. Everyone around had clammed up, even the bratty kid and his mother, though neither of them were astounded by Ellie's presence, they looked extremely pissed off.

"Santa not been jolly." Jessica patted Casey's arm. "He is okay, you're here."

"He is?" Ellie looked up to the Colonel, who had a confused and scared expression like that of a deer in a car's headlights. Casey nodded, a sharp single jerk of his head followed by a curious childlike mumble of _"yes". _After some deep languid breaths Casey gained control over—some—of his fear and embarrassment. Though after realizing that he was actually happy she was here, he smiled, sincerely and genuinely back at her.

"I am." The smile broadened and Casey held out his hand to assist Ellie back to her feet.

Morgan was beyond fascinated, as the gruff Marine rose and touched a hand politely, delicately to Ellie's back and took hold of the other hand, directing her to the space next to Santa's armchair. He scowled when there was nothing for Ellie to sit upon. In a matter of seconds a chair was placed there by a quivering female Buy More employee, who then scarpered away quickly. Casey then lightly aided Ellie down in the chair in a pure gentlemanly fashion, and Ellie gracefully smiled back her thanks.

"You didn't have to do this." Casey said, softly muttering into her ear. Her eyes briefly closed at the wisp of his warm breath on her skin.

"Yes. I did." She shyly responded, her fingers stroking over his arm as it slipped from around her waist. "You needed some help…the children…"

Ellie and Casey were snapped out of their moment when Jessica took up his other hand, the uninjured one and began gnawing on a finger. Her drool slithered over his knuckles and tiny teeth nipped at his skin, causing Casey to growl. Jessica growled back, again.

"Sweetie…" Ellie looked briefly round and then reached out to take a small candy cane from the Christmas tree. "Why don't you have this? It will be tastier than Santa's hand."

The little girl looked over her shoulder at her mother and Morgan, before gently easing Casey's finger out of her mouth, taking the cane from Ellie's hand and stuffing that between her lips.

"Fank oo messa Fanta." With her mouthful of candy, the girl grinned—drooled some more—and then went scurrying back to her mother. The woman hugged her daughter and bobbed her head in thanks.

With the acceptance and satisfaction of this mother, others appeared more at ease with the situation and became eager, anticipating what this new store Santa could bring.

Morgan noticed that the children were also pleased with the change in "Santa" now that his "wife" was here. There was hope.

* * *

Morgan sighed and the pain in his head and chest, brought on by the stress, began to ease. Ellie had saved them, she had soothed the savage Casey and now as the children eagerly went to greet Santa and Mrs Claus to receive their presents and have their picture taken, the Buy More returned to normal.

Well almost.

"Just because you got some pretty young piece in a Mrs Santa outfit to distract the others, I'm not being fooled! That Santa insulted my son!"

Morgan turned and he was hit in the face with the big round breasts and the many gold chains which belonged to the horrible woman. Morgan closed his eyes, cleared his throat and stepped back, before looking back up at her.

"Ma'—ha!—Ma'am…" Morgan jumped in mid-sentence when the brat of boy glared at him evilly. He glared back and brought forth the confidence and attitude Casey and the CIA had helped develop within him. "I think I can say that I completely agree with Santa's comments about your son. Little children who behave like that don't deserve nice presents. Your son is spoilt, ungrateful, rude and frankly he treated Santa, myself and my staff very poorly. He's not going to be on the nice list and all he'll be getting is an itty bitty bit of coal, like it says in the song! Which is a shame, he's only like that because of you."

There was a snort of laughter behind Morgan, who turned and saw the approval that now glowed upon John Casey's face. He held his thumb up and so too did the laughing child on his knee. Morgan gave the signal back, but when he turned to face the woman, he was confronted with pure rage, and a kick in the shins.

"OW!"

"I am going to make a complaint to your superiors! I'm going to sue that cretin, you and your staff!"

"YEAH!" sneered the boy who had kicked him. Morgan sneakily stuck his tongue out at the boy before his mother could see. He straightened up and put on his best managerial pose.

"Well, that is your right, madam." Morgan felt the presence of someone standing behind him. He knew instantly who it was. "If you wish to make a complaint, by all means, do so. My colleague here would gladly take your details and document your grievances before letting my superiors know."

"If you would like to follow me, ma'am, I can hear your complaint."

The woman didn't know how to respond to the sweet smiling pleasantries of the elf woman with the Greta name tag. The woman could see Greta was eager and sincere about taking the complaint but behind that smile, behind the toner smeared cheeriness, there was something that sent a chill of fear up even Morgan's spine. The CIA woman was extremely deceptive, for the rude customer and her son lost all of their angry bravado.

"I will not be handed off to some subordinate."

"I am far from some subordinate, ma'am." Greta said, holding out her hand towards the front of the store. "I can see to it that the highest Buy More executives know how mistreated you and your son were."

Morgan observed the CIA agent take the woman away from the grotto, behind her back Greta was clicking a biro, slowly and the smile she shone back to Morgan over her shoulder made him tremble. He hoped that she wasn't going to do anything drastic with that pen…surely she wouldn't. Would she?

"She won't harm them." Morgan nearly jumped. Whilst Greta's approach was intended to have been detected, Alex's sudden appearance at his side caught him off guard. Her father had the same habit. She laughed at his surprise and gave him a hug. "You…you needn't worry, Morgan. My dad's not mad at you anymore, well not much. I think his day has improved, considerably."

She wasn't wrong. The children weren't crying, the adults themselves were pleased to see the happier Santa Claus as he gave out presents and _smiled_ for the photographer. It wasn't perfect, there were tense moments when the Colonel's patience faltered again (one child jumping on his knee was in serious danger of igniting the old dislocation injury); however, he was calmed simply by a mere touch of a soft hand on his arm or leg.

It was fascinating to see a man such as John Casey to be behaving like this. Morgan thought they were both like smittened teenagers, so shy and tentative and thinking that their attraction wasn't as obvious as it was. Morgan witnessed the occasional brush of their hands and of their legs when they got too close, he saw the flash of excitement in Casey's eyes and the nervous but pleasured way Ellie bit her lip. This was way beyond huge.

"You're seeing this?" Morgan whispered to Alex as a small red haired girl hugged Casey and then Ellie before running off with her new present. Alex nodded.

"Isn't it great?"

Morgan had been bewildered and shocked to see such closeness between them back at Echo Park. Yes, he knew the two of them had always been courteous to each other and did enjoy one another's company, but Morgan had thought it just that. They were friends, neighbours. It was more than that and he decided that it was also…a very good thing.

Ellie had burst free from the shell of misery she had been keeping herself in ever since Devon left. She was smiling again, laughing again and her face had that wondrous life and colour to it instead of paleness. She was alive and being Ellie again. Everyone had missed her.

As for Casey himself, it was nice to see a mellower, more caring side to him. Morgan knew he wasn't a tin man without a heart, that deep beneath the mean exterior there was a part of him which was capable of compassion, warmth and love. Having Alex in his life had been a big change; he was a father and was a damned good one according to her, but with this closeness with Ellie, Casey was opening up. He wasn't so lonely any more.

"They make a lovely couple." Alex said proudly.

"Yeah….sure."

Alex raised an eyebrow in curiosity to such a meagre and lacklustre response. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him.

"You're worried about something?"

Morgan nodded.

Chuck. Sometimes his best friend and bro didn't always see things he saw and vice versa. Casey getting romantical and close with his sister? Chuck got very emotional when Ellie was concerned and Morgan didn't blame him, however, the prospect of Chuck learning about this, did worry the bearded man.

"He'll be okay." Said Alex, reading clearly what was going through his mind. "When he sees how happy they are, he'll be pleased. I assure you."

If she said Chuck was going to be okay, then it was going to be so.

* * *

It had been tough, really tough. Having Ellie by his side, helping him through the ordeal was more than he could put into words. It was because of her that most of the children left smiling and full of joy and it was because of her that he was feeling so uplifted.

After the last family left and as the photographer was packing up his equipment and talking to Morgan about his payment, Casey stayed sitting on the chair gazing at Eleanor Bartowski in wonderment. She was beyond stunning in her costume, a sight of loveliness which evoked such turmoil within him that he couldn't move. His mind began to think back on when their friendship had changed so drastically, when she had broken through his steel barriers and allowed him to have these feelings he had denied—for any woman—for so long.

He couldn't pinpoint it. He only vaguely remembered being there for her after Devon left, bringing round some of his homemade pecan pies to cheer her up and the times they had conversed after family dinner whilst they did the dishes. Ellie had always been lovely, he thought her beautiful from the moment he met her, but he still couldn't remember when he allowed himself to show his feelings.

"That went well." Ellie folded up the empty sack that had once contained presents and looked back at him with a pleasured smile.

"It only did so, because of you." John looked about, scanning the store for any children, before taking off the damned beard that was starting to itch. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"You're more than welcome, Mr. Casey… John." The sparkle in her grey eyes flashed and triggered the forgotten memory within him.

"They" had started on the day Casey had helped her back to her apartment with her shopping. When she took the bags of groceries from his arms, she had thanked him and smiled just as she was doing so now. They had lingered for a long time on her doorstep, staring into each other's eyes and when she tore hers away, looking down…licking her lips…it was then. That moment, that was when he had allowed himself to grin. _"You're _**more**_ than welcome, Miss Bartowski."_

The two of them were staring again. Casey felt himself warm, his face burned and his blood was screaming in his veins as his heart began to pump faster and faster. The urge to take his hands, cup her face in his palms and kiss her was so strong, and if he interpreted her deep heavy breathing correctly, Ellie was equally flustered and aroused. He saw the tiny beads of moisture forming on her brow and across her neck and he couldn't help but smile at the inward curl of her lips as she tried to restrain herself.

"Do you have a party to prepare for?" he asked when Ellie forced herself to look away. She rose to her feet and began to hastily clear up the grotto in the Bartowski frantic cleaning manner.

"Yes. So much to do…" Ellie stammered over the words and looked in horror at her hands as they shook. She coiled them together in an attempt to get them to stop shaking, but it was useless and Casey acted upon instinct. He leaned forward—as far as the plump padding of his costume allowed—and grabbed her hand, pulling her back. Ellie let out a startled gasp which caught the attention of some of the lingering customers and she felt the air escape both of her lungs when her bottom fell down onto a warm and very comfortable lap.

From her lips came a startled squeak, like a mouse.

"Sorry to startle you," he said, his words growling sensually deep. Ellie shook her head, implying but not conveying that he hadn't. She shifted position a little and almost slipped off but Casey caught her by wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to the point where he could feel her breath upon his face, and taste her upon his lips even though they weren't touching.

"Will you…" her voice caught in her throat. "Do you want to come back…help me with the…?"

He replied with an affirmative rumble, the vocalizing was enough to make her eyes flutter close and her body tremble on top of him. She leaned forward, her weight ground more into his lap and the heat emanating from her, from both of them was becoming more than Casey could bare.

"What-?" He felt her breath whisper painfully in his ear and her arms lace around his neck. "What…what are we doing, John?"

They were doing something very private in the very public Buy More store. The Buy More store which was a CIA base and had cameras everywhere. They had to leave, before Casey ended up making a fool of himself, because right now, his hand was no longer supporting her around the waist. His hand trailed down the shapely bareness of her leg, his palm squeezing at her flesh but his fingertips were caressing her skin and causing excited goose bumps. It was when he moved the hand back up her leg, pushing beneath the hem of the dress. Feeling the softness of the white fringe and the shudder of her body that he abruptly shot to his feet.

Ellie shrieked and clung to him to prevent herself from falling on the floor and on her bottom. Casey eased her gently down, though his hands refused to let go of her when she was standing tall on her feet.

"I think we should get out of here, go someplace a little less…open." He murmured, closing his eyes as he knew how that had just sounded. At the touch of her had against his face, they opened and thankfully she didn't look offended. "I mean…if you want to…get out of here that is. Or I could leave…er…I could."

"I could too. We…we both could. Together?" Ellie bit her bottom lip. Casey was entranced by such a little thing she did-Ellie did this often when nervous—it riled him up. The desire to kiss her again in front of everyone was so strong that he had to resist leaning forward and biting that lip for her.

"We should." He groaned, remembering just what he was wearing. Holding her this close was making him like this? Casey dreaded to think how he would be reacting once the damned Santa costume and the fat padding was taken away. He let go of her, he heard the upset mew that involuntarily escaped her mouth when they parted and Casey couldn't help but smile.

It was another good ten minutes that Santa and Mrs. Claus stood in the middle of the grotto, oblivious to the staff taking it down around them, before Casey held out his arm to her. Ellie slipped both of her hands around the arm and she allowed him to lead her toward the exit of the store.

"Are we going to go out still wearing this?" Ellie stopped short of the sliding doors and looked at herself and then Casey. He was still wearing the Santa costume minus the beard. Casey cussed under his breath that he had forgotten even for a few seconds that was what he had on.

"I'll go and change." John nervously grinned and scratched the back of his neck as he shuffled on his feet. "Shall I meet you in the parking lot or…your place?"

"I've got to change as well." Ellie said, folding her arms across her chest and shyly looking up at him. She looked away quickly. "Yes! I have to change…"

"We both do."

"And I've got some more shopping to do!" Ellie began to babble and where he hated Chuck doing it, hearing Ellie do so was adorable. "Shopping! For the party tonight and the Christmas dinner tomorrow, I have a few things that are needed…fresh cream…marshmallows for Morgan and some more avocados for my guacamole."

"Guacamole?" Casey coughed and his eyes widened in delight. "You're…you're making your Guacamole?"

"Yes. Alex likes it…do…..do you?"

He could only nod, still wide eyed and now his mouth was beginning to water.

"I can make some more for you, if you'd like." Ellie heard the reply from Casey's stomach, which rumbled in longing and she laughed. "I take it that you do, as it was you who told Alex about it in the first place."

Ellie took up Casey's hand and squeezed it affectionately, before walking away. He watched her leave and was as enamoured when he first saw her in that gorgeous dress. What was he doing? Apart from standing in the Buy More, wearing a Santa Claus outfit and gawping at Ellie, Casey was getting himself into something very serious. Beckman wouldn't approve and god knew that Chuck wouldn't. Though right now, he didn't give a good god damn what either of them or anyone else thought about it, because he was going to spend more time in that gorgeous woman's company and there was going to be food. The world would stop turning for him, when Eleanor Faye and food were involved.

He couldn't wait until they got back home. The thought of cooking with her made his tummy rumble and now the large baggy red velvet trousers he was wearing felt just that little bit tighter.

* * *

Morgan received a big shock, but the surprise was replaced by a huge grin and the uncontrollable need to laugh. His hand clamped over his mouth as he approached the cage but it did little to stop the guffaws smattering and drooling over his palm. His eyes saw them and he wondered, marvelled at how they got there.

Their muffled protests, or rather _his _muffled protests sounded pitiful and pleading but Morgan already knew what had happened and why they were there. He stood in the middle of the cage watching them with great amusement. This was no doubt Greta's doing and it was a great way of punishing the two biggest Buy Morons.

For their uses of Mammary cam, as well as other unsavoury pursuits, Greta had somehow managed to staple, tie and secure Jeff and Lester to the metal walls of the cage with Red Christmas ribbon. While Jeff didn't seem too adverse to his current position, Lester was struggling and screaming through his gag to be released. It was just perfect.

But what was even more so, was the conveniently placed digital camera on one of the boxes. If there was a way to make Casey's day even better…Morgan couldn't resist.

to be concluded...


	4. Part Four

_Author's Note: Okay here is my last chapter of this story. Always word to Kuryakingirl for the beta stuff but suffice to say I'm still not entirely happy with this. Also, word to Night Lotus for the food stuff. I don't know, it might just be me aching to add more and more to the end scene and I may very well do so at some point. I don't know. But anyhows, do read and let me know what you think. Does it need more or is it fine as is? _

_Cheers. _

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**A Very Jellie Christmas-part four**

Eleanor Bartowski's Christmas Eve party in Echo park was like all other parties before it, popular and lively and there was not one person there who felt left out or awkward. Ellie always made sure that everyone got something out of it. It her was responsibility as hostess. All the guests, Ellie's friends, Chuck's friends, the neighbours and even the folks from the Buy More had put a lot of effort into making their fancy dress-which had been mandatory for the evening—and Ellie loved it. She announced a competition for the best costume and naturally all wanted a part of it. The vast variety of coloured costumes ranged from the adorable to the outright bizarre and it gave the atmosphere a positive buzz.

Chuck knew that the party would be in progress when he returned. He and Sarah had stopped off at Castle to report to Beckman and they had even managed to release a very thankful Jeff and Lester from their restraints before getting their own costumes.

The party was in full swing when they walked beneath the archway, and every one—drunk or sober—greeted them with wishes of Happy Christmas and statements of "Where have you been?" Sarah relayed the cover story whilst Chuck grabbed some drinks. Some alcoholic refreshment was welcomed after everything they'd been through. He chipped off the top from a beer bottle and took a swig, gasping with pleasure as the refreshing beer slid down his throat. He chipped the other one off and handed the second bottle to Sarah. They clinked glasses and drank a sip together. Chuck barely had time to swallow when something small and bearded shot straight into his back.

"Dude! You made it back in one piece!" Morgan grabbed Chuck in a friendly hug from behind. He grabbed hold of Chuck tightly as large thick antlers-decorated with tinsel and lights-unbalanced Morgan. "Nice costume! Love the greenness of it! Suits you! I hadn't expected you to turn up in this, but cool homage to the Doc!"

"Thanks buddy." Chuck winced as one of the antlers poked him in the ribs. He turned round and saw a big red nose on top of Morgan's own. It was pulsing with a red flashing light and along with Morgan's big soppy grin; Chuck couldn't keep a straight face. "Those antlers might be a safety hazard though."

"What? These things?" Morgan looked up at the towering antlers and lost his balance again. He swerved and spun in a circle, forcing Chuck and Sarah to jump back to avoid being hit.

"I've been telling him they're unsafe and I've keeping a distance."

Chuck and Sarah thought Alex looked absolutely adorable in her pink fairy costume, with the gloves and the way her makeup was done, they saw she had probably been watching a certain Bill Murray film recently. Chuck hoped that Alex was simply adopting the look of this Christmas fairy ghost from Scrooged and not the temperament.

"Sarah, Chuck! You look great… Cindy Lou and Grinch…not many people would think of that! Doctor Seuss is always a classic!"

Agent Walker bobbed her head and thankfully the vertical stalk of blonde hair that rose above her head never faltered. Along with the hundreds of hairclips pinning it up, red ribbons decorated her golden blonde hair and the pink on her (night?) dress gave her an innocent and childlike appearance, which was very different to who she really was.

"So, are you going to steal Christmas, Chuck?" asked Morgan, staggering again under the weight of his costume. Chuck grinned and shook his head and hands.

"Me? Steal Christmas? Be mean? Nah I'm the _reformed_ Grinch! I'm the good Grinch, the one with a heart several times too big? Besides-!" He wiggled his eyebrows and flapped his hands by his painted face. "Green suits me!"

"It took you a while to get prepared then," said Alex, as she looked in fascination at Sarah's hair. Sarah nodded.

"I had some help from my hairdresser." She whispered nodding in Chuck's direction. Chuck heard her and even underneath all the green face paint there was slight embarrassment brought on by the revelation of him helping Sarah do her hair. Seeing the two women smiling at this little joke, Chuck stood to attention, sticking out his chest and lifting up his head in a clear manly posture.

"So where is our hostess?" Sarah asked after Chuck was nearly knocked over by a large Christmas present. Skip, confined in the box costume, apologised and then spent a good long while trying to pick his drink up from a nearby table.

"She's…" Morgan didn't have to say anything when Ellie herself emerged from her apartment, wearing the same luscious Mrs. Claus outfit she had done at the Buy More. "She's right there."

Chuck smiled. Of course Ellie would choose this outfit because she looked great in it. This was her costume, she chose it every year despite saying she would choose differently. She had worn it at all of the previous Christmas parties, everyone knew that it was her alone who could wear it and so no woman dared to turn up in the same dress. It was her trademark and for Chuck it wouldn't have been Christmas if Ellie didn't put it on. He had been concerned that she wouldn't this year, but something had changed and seeing her come back into herself was enough.

The siblings spotted each other and Ellie came walking over, laughing with joy at what her brother had chosen for his costume. Ellie hugged him with all her might and he did the same back to her, kissing her cheek as they parted.

"I'm so pleased you could make it!" Ellie exclaimed, stepping back to adjust the slight crumples in her red dress. Once her Mrs Claus outfit was straightened and looking pristine as possible, she fully took in the fancy dress of her brother and his girlfriend. "You both look wonderful! Amazing!"

"You look amazing, sis." Chuck said.

"I feel it!"

Chuck could see. She was lively, vibrant and it was wonderful to see her as such. Ellie looked a little flushed, but that was probably due to the wine she was drinking. However, Chuck suspected that it was more than just a little bit of wine that was making her so ecstatic. He was thrilled that she had come out of her stupor and no longer sat in her home being miserable; Chuck finally had his sister back.

Music started up, thanks to the DJ who was dressed as Christmas pudding, and the majority of the guests at the party starting dancing around the fountain. Alex took Morgan to middle of the courtyard, she cleared a space for them both (mainly Morgan) and they commenced dancing. The others around them gave them a wide berth, or else risked being poked or even skewered.

"Well, enjoy yourselves! Celebrate! Food is inside and there's plenty to go round! John and I have been slaving away; experimenting on different foods…he's been an absolute sweetheart!"

"Sweetheart?" asked Sarah in disbelief and hiding the smirk behind her hand. She cleared her throat "Casey? Really, Ellie?"

"It's not a difficult thing to believe, Sarah." Ellie sipped at her wine as her fingertips began to stroke around and across her neck, playfully, suggestively. "He's been wonderful."

Chuck couldn't quite agree with his sister. Casey was honourable, brave and Chuck trusted him implicitly. Over the years both the men had changed, Chuck had hardened to become the spy he was now and Casey…well he had mellowed. He'd softened thanks to Alex, yet he was still essentially Casey in Chuck's eyes; the hard-ass, no nonsense, tough gun lovin' Marine.

What was Casey to his sister? They were simply neighbours to begin with, acquaintances, and then friends. Chuck was aware that Casey was more at ease around his sister, it was because of Casey's attitude of respect and chivalry and the fact that Ellie was able to bring out the best in people.

Her eyes weren't focused on Chuck or Sarah or even at the mass of people dressed in festive fancy. Ellie was staring back to the apartment with anticipation and eagerness, now clutching the wine glass to her chest, expecting something to happen. Was it to do with Casey? Chuck became a little apprehensive; for he hoped that his big sister wasn't going on the rebound to John Casey. Perhaps taking the wine away from her might be a good idea.

"I am fine!" she said when she saw the concerned expression on Chuck's face. She read her little brother like a book and knew instantly what he was thinking. "I'm not drunk, tipsy or intoxicated, Charles! Nor do I need to be! Christmas tomorrow is going to be just as glorious as today…well hopefully better after what John had to go through today."

The two agents were about to ask what had happened, even though they both suspected Morgan's earlier plans had somehow come into play, but when he spotted the very tall Santa Claus filling the doorway to Ellie's apartment, he choked.

"Santa Casey?" Chuck snorted as some of the bubbles from his beer shot up his nose.

The towering Santa walked over to them, other guests scampering out of his way but edging back cautiously when they saw what he was carrying. The delicious smell that followed him was hard to resist and they were curious as to whether they would get a taste. The low growl from beneath the beard made them back away again.

"You went ahead with Morgan's request?" asked Chuck, watching Ellie intently as she gazed adoringly at the marine. "Wow, I'm amazed, Casey. Good for you! I'm betting those kids were tough work huh?"

"Yeah. They were, and your sister was of great help, she kept me calm and…so I offer my thanks…and these."

Casey wrenched himself back and with his arm around Ellie's waist pulled her out of the way of some jerking antlers nearly sticking in their faces. Morgan was sniffing and salivating at the individual cups of sweet golden goodness.

"Crème brûlée? Oh heavens this is divine!"

"Back off, Grimes! The lady here gets first taste!" Casey still with his arm round Ellie's waist offered the tray towards her. "They're actually individual creme brûlée cheesecakes laced with caramel."

Ellie picked one up from the tray along with the spoon and cracked the edge of the spoon through the crisp surface. It sunk in and she pulled out a small sampling of the gooey dessert and closed her eyes before slipping it between her lips. The sound that emerged from Ellie incited a curious reaction from Casey. Chuck saw his eyes widen and the normally sturdy and unshakable man actually swayed as if his legs had grown weak.

"Wow!" Ellie gasped. "John…they're…wow! I have never had anything so delicious in my mouth before! This is amazing!"

"You came up with the recipe." He whispered back. "It's only right that you should get a first try."

"Everyone, you've got to try these!" Ellie gestured for the others to take an individual pot. Morgan snatched two and handed one of them and a spoon to Alex. Sarah took one and when Casey thrust the tray into Chuck's hands, he was bombarded by others as they tried to get the remainders. He could only gawp as Ellie scooped up some more of her pudding and hold the spoon out towards Casey.

Chuck's mouth opened and closed with astonishment and confusion when both of Casey's arms wrapped around Ellie, pulling her into his puffed out belly. She laughed, or rather giggled fiendishly as she directed the spoon into his mouth. Chuck had never seen Casey act like this so publicly, it was unlike him to display such affection in the open and especially towards his sister. He heard a purring and a delighted gratified moan come from beneath the beard, thus in turn evoking a lilting moan from Ellie.

"Oh." That was about the extent of Sarah's reaction to her partner's amorous display with the Intersect's sibling, that and the startled expression on her face.

"Morgan?" Chuck couldn't look away when Casey whispered something in Ellie's ear. Whatever it was that he had said, it made Ellie cling to him with a fierce excited hold. She nodded like an ecstatic child and before Sarah or Chuck could say anything further, Ellie quickly excused them from the group and they walked back into the apartment. Chuck felt an irritating and pulsing twitch in his eye and in the hand holding the tray, for Casey's own hand was now lingering on Ellie's bottom as they walked away. "Er Morgan? Buddy! Do you have something to tell me?"

"Oh! Yeah, Chuck!" Morgan tapped his spoon on the now empty tray in Chuck's shaking hands. "This crème brûlée is to die for!"

"That's not what I meant!" Chuck pushed the antlers away from his face.

"Oh…well all the mince pies are gone and so have the mini-quiches, but I do believe there's some Strawberry Pavlova left. Won't be for long, Greta has a sweet hankering for strawberries apparently."

"I think Chuck meant Casey and Ellie," Said Sarah, taking the tray from Chuck's hands and holding them steady with her own. "They were unusually…they were flirting, Morgan."

"Is something going on between my sister and the Colonel of Badass?" asked Chuck. "Because I'm a little wigged out by…by those noises and the touching they did…in front of all of us!"

"Ah! That." Morgan grinned and took several licks on his spoon. Alex then came to stand by his side and Chuck got the distinct impression they had been wanting to talk to him about this very subject. "Chuck, let me tell you something…don't be a Grinch."

"Huh?"

"Chuck…don't try to ruin Christmas, pal. Not for Ellie…you know what she's gone through. Casey, he's a good guy. So believe me when I say you have nothing to fear or worry about."

"But-!"

"No butts, Chuck!" Morgan looked round, found two new bottles of beer and handed one to his friend. "Come …you and me we can talk about any concerns you might have. Sarah, you can join us…but you'll have to find your own beer. Sorry."

* * *

Alex allowed Morgan to take the two bewildered agents to a more secluded and quieter area of the courtyard so they could talk. Chuck looked anxious and she noticed how like Ellie he was as he began to have a mini Bartowski freak out.

Allowing Morgan and Sarah to settle him, Alex took to wandering around the courtyard, briefly engaging with the other guests, before stopping at the front door of Ellie's apartment. Taking a few steps inside she looked round the corner and saw Ellie and her father in the kitchen. Her dad had taken the beard off and was now cradling Ellie in his arms, her back resting against the padding, whilst at the same time feeding her some strawberries and gooey meringue pavlova.

If Chuck could see them now, if he could see how happy they both were, then everything would be all right.

Alex turned round and let the new couple have their moment. It was Christmas Eve and if anyone deserved to enjoy this night it was those two.

* * *

It was Christmas.

Ellie opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling, listening to the comforting silence all around her. The party had been a success and all who attended left praising her efforts, though the courtyard was a mess as it so often was after one of these gatherings. She had wanted to start tidying up then, but Alex and Morgan had said they would do it and that she should get some sleep.

She didn't get to sleep straight away, she couldn't. The family dinner had to be prepared and thankfully she had some help in doing so. He stayed and his assistance, his company, it was more than she could have asked for. The day had been beyond all of Ellie's expectations. When Casey called round after his morning run, it was comfortable and pleasant to talk to him, it felt right. She loved making breakfast and eating with him and while she still felt a little guilty for goading him into helping Morgan, the hours spent at the Buy More with the children was incredible.

Though it was nothing compared to now or to the few hours before she had fallen so blissfully asleep. Ellie turned her head and was greeted by a barely conscious smiling face. A hand lazily drifted up the side of her body and rested on her cheek, a thumb stroked her face before a warm forehead pressed against hers.

"Do you hate me now?" Casey's groggy and tired voice murmured against her lips.

Ellie closed her eyes and shuffled herself closer to his naked warmth.

"Why would I hate you?" she asked, trying not to smile as their legs entwined together.

"Because I'm here, because we…."

"I had asked you to stay." Ellie brushed a kiss against his lips and then picked his hand away from her face. She noted the bite marks little Jessica had left on his fingers and she gave that a kiss too. "I don't regret anything. Do you? You don't think we went a little too fast last night?"

Casey managed to shake his head and then it dropped into the crook of her neck. With his arms curled around her, he squeezed her body tenderly before proceeding to kiss along the length of her shoulder. Ellie trembled at the sensations he was giving her, she felt herself coursing with desire and so she squeezed back, urging him to do more.

"I have so many regrets in my life, Ellie." He groaned as he rolled her beneath him and gently wiped her hair from her face. He looked down in wonderment and awe and then planted a long passionate kiss on her lips that left her panting for breath. "You and what happened last night are not any of them."

This was the best Christmas she'd had in a long time.

The end.


End file.
